Dinner at the Turner's was amazing as always.

Mr. Turner's grilling skills were second to none and Dr. Turner always did know how to make great Bacon Mac & Cheese - the secret, lots of love and bacon.

As we ate a dinner of burgers and homemade mac and cheese we caught up.

Mr. Turner told me about how his business was doing. He tried to explain the intricacies of Blockchain, AI, and Data consolidation, but honestly, it all went over my head.

By the way that's how the Turner's ended up as the newest residents of the Hollow. Mr. Turner had created an algorithm to track, monitor, and consolidate Blockchain activity. Although his technology was still in its early stages, he had managed to land some very lucrative deals which allowed him and his family to finally enjoy the good life.

Dr. Turner was no slouch either. She had successfully finished her second doctoral program, earning her degree in Anthropology with a focus on Historic Preservation. She'd already had a doctorate in Art History, but she told me with this new degree her work could now be focused on the preservation of ancient cultures through their works of art.

"There is so much we could learn about our ancestors and our own past through the works they leave behind," she'd said. "Cave paintings, pottery, metalworks, you name it. There is just so much to uncover."

There was so much passion behind her every word. Watching at her, it was easy to see where Heather got her infectious enthusiasm from.

"I was lucky to find a backer who shares my vision," she continued. "They have agreed to fund my research."

"Wow Dr.T, that's amazing. Where are you going to start?" I asked.

"In Ghana. Preliminary reports show that there is a network of underground caves in the Brong Ahafo region, which have gone untouched for nearly 9000 years, maybe even longer. That's 4000 years older than the ancient Egyptians."

Her eyes sparkled; she was definitely her daughter's mother.

"Unfortunately, we're having trouble securing the right permits to begin our research. But as soon as the green light is given, I'll be on the first plane over."

"Ghana," I said. "That's interesting. That's where Quincy is right now, I think. I'll have to tell him next time he calls."

"Oh? That is interesting," Dr. Turner smiled. "I hope he's enjoying his time. Ghana is such a beautiful country."

"How is the great Quincy Dale doing?" Mr. Turner asked.

"He's fine - he's been having a blast exploring the world," I said. I kept the strange dream I had about Quincy and Pseudo Davos exploring the cave, the mask, and all the other bizarre happenings to myself. For some reason, I couldn't quite place, I didn't feel entirely comfortable with sharing those details with the Turners.

"I have a question Deshawn," Hillary, Heather's little sister asked.

"Yeah? What's up Hils?"

The younger Turner's face twisted in a sneer; instantly, I regretted my choice.

"How does it feel to have a brother who's so much better than you?"

Heather shot her angry look from across the table. "What? It's true, isn't it? Quincy is great, while Deshawn is so-."

"Hillary!" Dr. Turner snapped.

Hillary went silent, her smiled disappeared. The mood around the table grew uncomfortably awkward.

It was obvious that this wasn't what Hillary expected from her dig at me. I felt bad for her; she was still just a kid.

The funny thing is that no one argued with her, no one spoke up in my defense. And how could they, we all knew that she was right. But again, it didn't bother me. Yup, not one bit.

"To be honest, it's a pain in the butt," I said cutting through the awkward air. "He's much better than me at everything. Well, almost everything. Do you want to know where I beat him, Hils?" She looked up and nodded, her mood now much more subdued. "It's my dashing good looks of course. Try as he might Quincy's got no hope against this devilishly handsome face of fine." I wiggled my eyebrows. The joke landed and the dinner was saved.

"He definitely has nothing against your charm," Dr. Turner laughed.

"Yeah, that's for sure," Mr. Turner agreed.

"Deshawn the clown," Heather laughed.

Hillary smiled at me appreciatively.

The rest of dinner continued on smoothly. We reminisced some more, I told more jokes and pretended to completely understand what Mr. Turner does. I think I may have agreed to do an internship with his company next summer. Oh god, let's hope he forgets about that. Even Hillary seemed to tolerate me which is a lot more than she had done at the start of dinner. After our meal, Heather and I excused ourselves and went to the basement where she proceeded to hand me 11 straight losses in a row in Smash Bros.

Can I just say screw Captain Falcon and screw that stupid UP B button combo. Whoever made that thing can just...ugh!

"This has got to be cheating. Anyone who spams like that is the worst type of person."

"The worst type of person, do you mean winners?" She asked playfully. I heard Hillary laugh on the couch next to us. I guess she felt bad for the awkward moment she created earlier so she decided to keep us company.

After my 12th loss, I demanded we change the game. We played Mario Kart, now this was more my speed. I paid Heather back for every loss she gave me in Smash Bros.

"We're tied," she said after I won our last race.

"Yeah, we can't have that." I agreed. "What do we play next? How do we break the tie?"

"We could 1v1 in League of Legends?" She suggested. "Did you bring your laptop?"

"Wait, you still play?" I asked, stunned. "Lemme guess, you're still a Draven one-trick aren't you?"

She laughed. "Of course. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right?

I shook my head. "Seriously, you're the worst type of person," I sighed. "Hey Hils, do you mind if I…" At some point, Hillary must have already gone back upstairs because we were all alone. I was alone with Heather...in a basement...completely out of sight.

Now look I know, this was the perfect rom-com set up. Any other person could have probably capitalized on the situation and made a move but if you haven't already figured it out allow me to spell it out for you. Your boy - Deshawn Dale - is not smooth.

As the realization hit me, I just sat there staring at Heather. I could feel my face growing warmer by the second. My heart started pounding again. This time it was so loud that I could have sworn Heather heard it too. We locked eyes and she hastily looked away. That was odd. There's no way she was blushing, right? Although, I doubt I'd be able to tell anyway.

"How about we postpone our tiebreaker match?" I suggested after a few awkward minutes.

"Agreed. It's getting hot in here. Do you want to go outside for some fresh air?"

"Yes, please. Fresh air is good."

We placed our controllers back on the Switch and turned off the TV before rushing upstairs. Mr. Turner was in his office while Dr. Turner was reading a book in the family room with Chandler curled up next to her on the couch. Hillary sat close by scrolling on her phone, no doubt on Instagram.

None of them paid us any mind as we passed by to the pool deck. Although it was early autumn the Turners hadn't yet covered their pool so a couple of leaves were floating in the water. Heather walked over to the pool's edge and kicked off her shoes. She dipped her toes in the water and shivered, but she sat down and plunged her feet into the water. She patted the floor next to her. I happily obliged. The water was cold but not unpleasantly so. It was actually quite refreshing. Heather started gently kicking her feet back and forth sending forward ripples to the other end of the pool. The ripples hit the other side of the pool, distorting our reflections and shadows cast on the water's surface, as they traveled.

"Wanna play 20 questions?" Heather asked.

"Uh sure. But 20 is a lot. How about we get 10 questions instead. I get 5, you get 5."

"Sure. I'll start. Question 1: Who is the Best Smash Bros player in North America?"

"Ugh," I groaned. "It is you oh Queen of the Up B spam."

She grinned. "Don't you forget it!"

"Ok, my turn," I said. "If you could have any super pow-?"

"Fire," she said without hesitation. "Come on DD. You should already know this."

"Yeah, my bad. Turner the Burner. Your turn."

"Best of the Big Three anime? Like the shounens," She asked.

I thought for a moment. "One Piece. With Naruto as a close second. You?"

She also thought silently for a moment before answering. "Bleach. I know everyone gives it a lot of crap but I thought Bleach had style."

"Style?"

"Yeah. Ichigo, Uryu, the Captains of the Gotei 13; they all had swagger. Hell, I even had a crush on Aizen back in the day. Ugh, he was just so cool. His Zanpakuto power was so broken." She said as she looked wistfully at the moon's reflection in the pool.

I laughed. "Ok, I'll give it to you Bleach had swag. Hands down the best team song among the three."

Heather started drumming against the air with her fingers. "Oooooo, look out yeah, yeah, yeah. If you wanna see some action," she started.

"Gotta be the center of attraction," I joined in.

"Make sure that they got their eyes on you, like the face you see on every magazine," she sang on.

"It's natural," I sang in the best falsetto I could manage.

We both burst out laughing. "You skipped an entire verse you goof," she said as she playfully shoved me.

"Look, if I fall into the water, I'm taking you down with me," I said through a goofy grin.

"Oh is that a threat, Mr. the Clown?" Heather asked.

"Maybe? Wanna find out?" I teased.

"Maybe," she replied playfully.

I looked at her face, her deep hazel eyes staring back at me from behind her glasses. I was glad she hadn't changed despite how different she looked, the new friends, new house, new her. As I looked in those deep brown orbs I felt relieved that Heather, my Heather was still there.

"What?" she asked, quickly looking away again. "Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh no. Sorry," I said, quickly. I could feel my face getting flushed too. "Who's turn is it now?"

"Mine," she lied, smirking. "I want you to be completely honest with me, ok?"

"Uh sure. Shoot.

She took a deep breath. "Deshawn, do you have a crush on me?" she asked. She wasn't smiling. Her face was completely serious, tensed in anticipation.

"Uh, um, I," I stammered. I'd be lying if I said I expected her to be so direct. I've seen high school enough rom coms to know that the correct thing to do was to dance around the issue until one of us, probably me, finally confessed our feelings. This...this was going off-script.

I looked away from her and fixed my gaze on the soft ripples traveling to the other end of the pool. As they journeyed, our shadows on the water's surface seemed to dance. I noticed that while my shadow was still there, Heather's had now disappeared. That's weird, I thought. Was this an optical illusion brought about by the water and the moon? I didn't pay much attention because I had much more pressing concerns.

"Yes." I finally said. I braced myself, and steeled my heart for the crushing rejection I was sure would follow. You see I'd seen enough rom coms to know that this ended in me getting 100% friend-zoned.

Heather didn't respond, her feet stopped kicking the water but she kept her gaze firmly focused on the pool's surface. She sat completely still for one second, then five, then ten, then fifteen. After sixteen seconds of awkward silence, she finally spoke. "That's good, DD, cause I like you too."

Now that was a shock.

"Wait, really?" I asked, turning to meet her gaze. I felt a not-so-small knot of panic come undone in the pit of my stomach. "Heather, you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that. I have had a crush on you since middle school but I was too scared to tell you. I was going to tell you the day you moved out but…"

"But you were still too scared," she finished. "I was the same way."

"Yeah," I nodded. "And then you came back looking completely different, like good different. And then you started dating Derek. I couldn't stand it so I started avoiding you."

"So that's why," she said, her expression sad. "I had always wondered if it was something I did. That's I gave you your space. I didn't want to force anything."

That broke me.

"No, it wasn't you. It was me. It was my fault for being such a scared pathetic loser." I cursed. "I'm so sorry if I hurt you."

She looked at me with those deep orbs of hazel and smiled sweetly.

"It's ok DD. All is forgiven. And now that the truth is out and Derek and I are on a break maybe we could actually try and see if you and I can actually be a thing," she said.

My heart started thumping, again and my palms grew sweaty once more. Was she being serious? If so this may very well be the best day of my life. Who said the geek couldn't get the girl. Maybe all those romcoms were wrong after all.

"Oh my god, yes. I would like that very much," I all but blurted out. She seemed to find that amusing because she gave me her cute half chuckle, half snort-laugh.

"Wow DD. I'm glad you're so eager," she said. "But first I have one last question."

"Uh, that's cheating, but sure. I guess you can go twice."

"Great," she smiled. A cold tingle passed over me and the sharp ringing started blaring in my head. Suddenly my heart began racing again but not out of happiness or anticipation. This was something different - Fear.

Heather's easy smile seemed to morph wickedly, turning colder. Black smoke, shifting shadows, began emanating from her. Her deep brown eyes disappeared replaced by two orbs of inky blackness.

The ringing in my head grew louder as all the hairs on my hands and neck stood at attention. Every cell in my body was on high alert.

"Before we can officially become a thing," Heather said in a voice that sounded like a distant low rumble. "I need you to hand over the mask."